Wind Turbine Components 2

May 19, 2009

The Economic Development organizations in London, Sarnia-Lambton, Chatham-Kent, Huron County,Guelph and in Waterloo Region are taking an inventory of the Wind Turbine Manufacturing Supply Chain in our region and are asking for your input. We value your assistance in gathering information that will help to promote the region’s capabilities in the North American wind energy sector by filling out the attached questionnaire.

Background: Canadian Wind Energy Industry
The Canadian Wind Energy Sector grew at an unprecedented rate of 51% between 2000 and 2006 and is continuing to thrive. Canada has a backlog of 5,786 MW of wind energy projects that have Power Purchase Agreements or are under construction (Source: CanWEA website).

Currently, Canada imports most of its turbines and is losing out on employment, and new investment. It has been estimated that the Canadian Wind Energy Industry could employ up to 24,668 people by 2014, provided we achieve a similar manufacturing content as Germany, Spain, China and the U.S.

Manufacturing large wind turbines with a capacity of 1.0MW to 3.0MW capacity is considered part of the heavy industrial sector and requires a cluster of industries to provide the various manufacturing processes, such as casting, forging, machining, welding, heat treatment, surface coating, and gear cutting.

Regional Objectives
The region’s objective is to identify and promote a regional cluster of companies that can provide components to the wind energy sector by creating a directory of suppliers who wish to participate in/are qualified for wind energy activities.

The consulting firm SYNOVA International Business Development assisted in the development of this survey of regional companies involved/interested in the wind energy-manufacturing sector.

Questionnaire
To assist us in providing a complete picture to potential customers, we ask you to complete the attached questionnaire. This short questionnaire should take about 10 minutes to complete.

If you have any questions about the questionnaire, please contact your location economic development agency:

Lori Gall
lorig@chatham-kent.ca - (519) 351-7700 x 2042

Monica Walker-Bolton
mwalker-bolton@huroncounty.ca - (519) 524-8394 x 281

Denis Van Decker
Denis@sarnialambton.on.ca - (519) 332-1820 x 228

Catharine Gerhard
Catharine@techtriangle.com - (519) 747-2541

Kadie Ward
kward@ledc.com - (519) 661-1883

Jim Mairs
jim.mairs@guelph.ca - 519-837-5600 ext. 2821

Consultant:
Helge Wittholz
hwittholz@sympatico.ca - (905) 876-2245